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Vanilla Level Design Contest X - 1he First place entry...well d0ne to all.

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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - raocow "dies" at the end.

Post by Valentine »

Train levels physically cannot be anything less than perfect.
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - raocow "dies" at the end.

Post by Nimono »

Sanct wrote: 3 years ago Train levels physically cannot be anything less than perfect.
Guess I succeeded at breaking that trend ;P
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - raocow "dies" at the end.

Post by Kilgamayan »


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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - raocow "dies" at the end.

Post by Grounder »

HEY SMW ROMHACKING COMMUNITY, DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THE OBSCURE GEM SUPER MARIO WORLD FOR THE SUPER NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM? I SURE DO!
Why don't you eat me?

I am perfectly tasty...

AND I'LL STEAL YOUR SOUL! :twisted:

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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - raocow "dies" at the end.

Post by KobaBeach »

in answer to peach's giant earrings however, we have a challenge to smwc. in vanilla level design contest 12, create a storyline in which peach gets breast cancer. it needs fleshing out, no pun inten
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - raocow "dies" at the end.

Post by Nimono »

Kilgamayan wrote: 3 years ago -WL1 music-
Yes, I agree
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - raocow "dies" at the end.

Post by Ashan »

Waluigi's KKK Line
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - raocow "dies" at the end.

Post by Nimono »

Ashan wrote: 3 years ago Waluigi's KKK Line
.....................


OH GOD NO WHY DID I NAME THE LEVEL THAT FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - raocow "dies" at the end.

Post by Venomous »

Nimono wrote: 3 years ago
Ashan wrote: 3 years ago Waluigi's KKK Line
.....................


OH GOD NO WHY DID I NAME THE LEVEL THAT FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - Nostalgia

Post by Sugar »

30th: Cleft of Luxetumbra by GeminiSunfall
Koopster
DESIGN: 28/50
CREATIVITY: 24/30
AESTHETICS: 19/20
TOTAL SCORE: 71/100

The concept is really cool and visually very nice, too. However I feel like it fits better as a puzzle concept, despite it making you change constantly the level felt super linear most of the time. On top of that, I didn't feel the design much at all, would even dare to say it feels like you made the land shapes first and scattered some jumping guys and spike tops around later. It didn't feel progressive. Also I find it a little weird how it feels like you're exploiting the level sometimes (to get the 1st and 4th dragon coin) and you kinda do cause you skip parts of the level by doing so. Also I'm disappointed by how the secret exit pipe doesn't follow the rules!

lolyoshi
DESIGN: 40/50
CREATIVITY: 16/30
AESTHETICS: 18/20
TOTAL SCORE: 74/100

This level is very complex and well thought-out.. mostly in it's concept. What put me off really was
how long you needed to spend in the level to figure it all out, especially the secret exit. It's idea was almost
the only thing which was holding up the level, and I feel it should have done way more with the sprites than just
the environment.

Noivern
DESIGN: 35/50
CREATIVITY: 26/30
AESTHETICS: 19/20
TOTAL SCORE: 80/100

Everything came together really well. Excellent use of aesthetics to complement gameplay, and it looks spectacular. The light/dark gimmick was also pulled off well, but the level got more and more claustrophobic as the level went on; the diggin' chuck at the end was really bad and a big difficulty spike. The secret exit used the gimmick well, but was kinda annoying.

Sinc-X
DESIGN: 39/50
CREATIVITY: 21/30
AESTHETICS: 11/20
TOTAL SCORE: 71/100

There are some neat concepts in play here. The level switching was executed well, and enemies are placed thoughtfully for the most part. I wish it consisted of more than just Hacks 101-style intertwining platforms, though--areas tend to blend together a bit, especially with the less linear nature of the level. I also dislike the brightness of the "light" palette, due in part to the translucency effect, which doesn't add much anyway. The end section with the P-switch felt a bit unnecessary, though the secret exit is crafted well.

Rameau's Nephew
DESIGN: 22/50
CREATIVITY: 20/30
AESTHETICS: 17/20
TOTAL SCORE: 59/100

This looks great, and it's a good concept, but I feel like it doesn't work at all in execution. The idea of two iterations of the level each with certain walls phased out of existence is neat, but in practice you can most ignore this aspect--due to the inability to re-enter pipes and the limited capacity for backtracking, it's really best to regard each section as two completely different areas with no cross-over, and, you're likely to be sent on a wild goose chase if you -don't- do this, as the secret exit in particular illustrates. Speaking of the secret exit, it's probably not a great idea to arrange the level so that you can only really see where the key and hole are after you've hit the midpoint, yet also arrange it so you can only access them -before- hitting the midpoint, essentially requiring the player to complete the normal exit again. It's especially bad to do this when a bunch of red herring items are lying around in the second half, suggesting that this actually -is- where you're meant to access the secret exit from, finally making greater use of the multiple realities concept, when in fact the actual solution is even more linear and straightforward than the regular exit, if kind of breaking the established rules about pipe color and destination. It just feels like the level has a lot of untapped potential lying around it in untidy snake-like coils.

It should also be noted that this level is absolutely riddled with blind drops (including a required semi-blind Para-Troopa hop for the secret exit). Combined with the odd an unintuitive geography, this makes for a lot of pointless deaths-by-falling.

+ Very pretty
+ Great concept with the two realities
- Two realities concept honestly not used much in practice except as a red herring
- Blind drops a-go-go

Other: Cleft, I fear, is a word that is loaded with far too much clinical innuendo to be taken seriously.
30th: Down Monty Mountain by MM102 + Renhoek
Koopster
DESIGN: 26/50
CREATIVITY: 25/30
AESTHETICS: 20/20
TOTAL SCORE: 71/100

A very sweet romp. It's really easy and spread apart, but it makes solid usage of the gimmicks it picks. Changes them pretty strongly between the two halves however. The first half had some rad chained platform concepts I wanted to see you blend into the second half with the moles as well. Also the camouflaged enemies looked super cool and you should've used them more as well!
I have a lot more to say, sadly.
The midpoint is very loopsided. The first half is more like a first third. My biggest issue is what the post-midpoint segments are like - the first half is a long mole riding-themed room, which is pretty clever and swell if you only have to do it a few times, but gets stale and tedious after a lot of tries. And the final chunk of the level is much harder than anything else, and far more punishing - it's full of holes. My biggest gripe is of course the secret exit. I think that room is really rad and cool, but one little mistake means death and it means that you have to do the mole riding segment again. It annoys me greatly how either moving the midpoint one room further or moving the pipe that takes to the secret room one room prior would've gotten rid of this issue.
The level is really really long and stretchy and could've easily been made shorter. There are many linear, goomba dodging segments especially in the final room that you could've done without.

lolyoshi
DESIGN: 23/50
CREATIVITY: 20/30
AESTHETICS: 18/20
TOTAL SCORE: 61/100

It's mixing of the tileset is legitimately impressive, but I couldn't help but feel that the
design is rather lackluster or not well thought-out. The secret exit part was perhaps the most confusing to
decipher.

Noivern
DESIGN: 32/50
CREATIVITY: 24/30
AESTHETICS: 19/20
TOTAL SCORE: 75/100

This is one of the worst secret exits I've seen this contest. It's right at the end of the main level, a huge difficulty spike (more difficulty is okay for a secret exit route but this is too much) and fake difficulty at that with the dodging partially obscured projectiles, and it's not a twist on the gameplay because the volcano lotus is used before and after the entrance pipe.

This level uses a lot of creative ideas with the mole sprites, but their implementation leaves a lot to be desired. The "trigger" on the moles is a good idea, but very finicky in practice. The level went on for too long, and I almost ran out of time.

Sinc-X
DESIGN: 37/50
CREATIVITY: 24/30
AESTHETICS: 19/20
TOTAL SCORE: 80/100

First things first, this level is really, really well done æsthetically. My only gripe is that the trees sometimes being solid and sometimes not can be a tad confusing. The Monty Mole setups are pretty clever for the most part, though sometimes the maneuvers required are a bit too precise, especially with the lava lotuses which are a pretty big pain, but overall there's a lot of fun to be had. Using block snakes to trigger the Monty Moles is also pretty clever. The starting area of the level is less interesting, but it's still decent.

The secret exit path is also enjoyable, though getting there is a bit painful, and it does also suffer from some pretty precise projectile dodging.

Rameau's Nephew
DESIGN: 28/50
CREATIVITY: 20/30
AESTHETICS: 20/20
TOTAL SCORE: 68/100

Oh my, this level is beautiful. The snow, the slabby background mountains, the fog, the rays of sunlight, and oh jeez, the trees. The latter look in isolation as though they completely shouldn't work, but they do, they most certainly do. The visual conveyance of the changing climate as Mario decreases in altitude was really marvelously done as well. All in all a great job here.

The main path is pretty well-designed on the whole; it doesn't try anything too crazy, but it has some nice touches, like the repurposing of the exploding blocks as the thawing frozen Goombas. Concerning the level's main gimmick, the Mega Moles, I'm of two minds: some of the setups involving them work quite well, but they also feel a touch awkward at times; which slopes they can traverse and which block them is a bit difficult to judge visually, and jumping on random rock tiles to release them from their invisible prisons, while certainly a creative repurposing of the eating blocks, never quite feels natural. The midpoint feels pretty front-loaded as well. Still, this doesn't stop the main path from being a fun and wonderfully atmospherically experience.

What really brings down the level, though, is the secret exit. Firstly, reaching the secret path in the first place is, shall we say, more than a bit obscure. And once you realize where the path is and how to reach it, actually executing the goal (hitting both invisible block on one go, no repeats) isn't exactly a negligible feat. But the real issue is the path itself. Here, the sprite-only canopy provides a huge visual-obscuring factor--it blocks your view of the mole you're riding on (problematic with all the jumps you have to perform), it hides the enemies, and worst of all, it hides the Volcano Lotus's projectiles. Really, the Lotuses shouldn't be here at all--the only thing they contribute to the level is almost unavoidable hits by wide projectile spreads you literally cannot see. It gets worse once the moles start bumping in to one another, and the player is expected to jump at exactly the moment, for only then do you come to realize how weird the Mega Mole's hit box is as you plummet in the void multiple times. And there's only one powerup in this section. And to top it all off, if you die here (and you will die, many times), you have to replay most of the second half of the level -and- execute the aforementioned block-hitting-tango to reach the secret path every. single. time. On the whole, I think the level would have been much stronger had it limited itself to the main path.

+ Absolutely gorgeous
+ Main path pretty neat
- Mole activation is a little awkward
- Secret path seriously brings down the level

Other: Good thing someone buried some donuts in the snow for those platforms to rotate around.
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - Nostalgia

Post by kitikami »

I think Down Monty Mountain making the secret exit only accessible by solving a puzzle and doing some tricky jumps dodging around the pollen while balancing on the mole is a clever way of signaling that it unlocks a hard-mode path without explicitly saying it. By making you go the extra step and put in more effort to something you've already gone through, you end up in an area with more complicated setups that develop the challenges on the main path further.
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - A view of Northern Canada

Post by Sugar »

29th: Bowser's Villa by Super Maks 64
Koopster
DESIGN: 27/50
CREATIVITY: 21/30
AESTHETICS: 15/20
TOTAL SCORE: 63/100

This isn't a villa it's a castlE!!!!!!!!!
The interesting part of this level is the second half, the platforming segments, and even they could've been more interesting, sometimes they're just too "pure" (nothing but hopping from platform to platform where the only risk is falling down). I don't know how you pulled off this platforms that make you move thing but it's a really neat concept that should've been used more often in obstacle courses.
This level's #1 problem is lack of direction. It starts off introducing this white/black squares gimmick that's useful for nothing but for a podoboo or two in the first half, completely dropped in the second and kind of handy in the """boss""", but I don't see why just coins wouldn't do the job instead. The first bit is about conveyors, then it becomes a half-water room based around sparkys, and the second half takes a completely different direction with moving platforms and grinders. And the final segment is a really not-boss-like room that tries to give squares some use, which wasn't necessary. It's a completely disjointed level for the most part - other than trying to use what it introduced very subtly sometimes -, whereas certain gimmicks you had seem to have enough potential to have been developed into something much better. I really like the swimming with tides (when you go to the left, moreso) while avoiding things with fast moving patterns, and I really like the wacky platforms. Either of these gimmicks I think you should've pushed forward. The first and last room don't really have a theme to them and didn't stand out to me gameplay-wise.
Should've worked on your colors too, the background in the inner segments is super in the way of viewability. Everything is too gray...

lolyoshi
DESIGN: 38/50
CREATIVITY: 20/30
AESTHETICS: 12/20
TOTAL SCORE: 70/100

I feel the level's too inconsistent with it's ideas, and seems to just do whatever it wants
to do. I think it played fairly okay however. The white and black indicators weren't necessary
until near the end.

Noivern
DESIGN: 30/50
CREATIVITY: 19/30
AESTHETICS: 9/20
TOTAL SCORE: 58/100

Plays like three different levels. The first section plays almost like a traditional castle; the second section is completely different with its focus on 1F0 and sprite boxes; the third section is yet again different with fireballs and autoscroll. The thing that draws them together is the white and black "helper" blocks, which are completely unnecessarily and most of the time only point out obvious things. Needs more color.

Sinc-X
DESIGN: 42/50
CREATIVITY: 26/30
AESTHETICS: 15/20
TOTAL SCORE: 83/100

For the first part of this level I was convinced that the whole "squares" gimmick was nothing more than that--a useless gimmick. But you managed to change my mind by the end, even if it's not used all the way through. The first part in general is not too interesting, but it's a decent intro to the rest of the stage. I think the use of the Sparkies in the water segment is great and something that should really be done more often. The best part is definitely the line guide platforming section; the use of the saws is fantastic and the platforms themselves are neat too. The momentum platforms are super weird to adjust to but also very interesting, and while I don't know if they necessarily add anything to the level, they don't make it worse. The Bowser "fight" is where those squares really shine, and it's definitley one of the better endurance fights out there. Very fun overall; great work.

Rameau's Nephew
DESIGN: 43/50
CREATIVITY: 25/30
AESTHETICS: 14/20
TOTAL SCORE: 82/100

Not bad at all! Both in the visual and the style of obstacles, this level has something of the grandiosity of a Yoshi's Island castle level. The level is quite enjoyable on the whole; it makes so good and surprisingly original use of conveyors and line-guided platforms, and though 1F0 makes a prominent appearance, it's handled in such a way that feels very natural and non-romhacky. The length is nicely balanced by a solid supply of powerups, and the reset doors, though not fundamentally essential for the vertical section, do help avoid making falling off the platform avoid feeling too punishing. I was less fond of the weird horizontal momentum platforms, which feel more awkward than interesting, but they're not such a major factor as to bring down the level as a whole too much. It's also a bit weird that Bowser in the final section A) doesn't hurt you, and B) apparently just sort of says, "All right, you got through my obstacle course, just take the princess", but again, it's not a major fault.

The visual design doesn't go crazy, but it has a certain elegance about it which suits the level. The chains look quite interesting, and the exterior section helps add a certain variety which magnifies the scope of the level. All in all a good complement to the choice of elements in the level itself.

+ Feels naturally Mario-like, yet still fresh.
+ Never gets exhausting despite length
- Wonky momentum platforms sort of wonky
- Ending vaguely strange

Other: Every villain needs a villa.
28th: Springy Spire by white_moth
Koopster
DESIGN: 37/50
CREATIVITY: 28/30
AESTHETICS: 11/20
TOTAL SCORE: 76/100

To say the least, this level is pretty interesting. It didn't look very promising and just felt like a jankfest at first, but a few rooms are taken some interesting places. It can get pretty needlessly finicky at places, but luckily the level is pretty forgiving. I wish there was more to it than just the gimmick though, and I'm sure it could be twisted in more ways if you integrated obstacle elements more often. Lots of potential, just decent execution.

lolyoshi
DESIGN: 48/50
CREATIVITY: 27/30
AESTHETICS: 15/20
TOTAL SCORE: 90/100

Not anything I've seen before. I love it. It comes together very well. A few parts can be
rough to play though.

Noivern
DESIGN: 20/50
CREATIVITY: 23/30
AESTHETICS: 12/20
TOTAL SCORE: 55/100

This doesn't really feel like a level, but rather like a movie. The only choice given is whether to get the moon; other than that the player is just doing that they're told, straight shot with no exploration elements and no variation. This is a problem I have with some other levels in this competition, but most of the time they at least have dragon coins you have to go out of your way for.

Anyway, about this level. A lot of the areas are super finicky, and at least one you're basically guaranteed to fail the first time. The point of reset doors is to prevent the player from having to kill themselves if they fail, not to enable needlessly precise platforming. The second feather puzzle is particularly bad, as if you don't jump directly onto the koopa from the springboard the camera will fail to scroll high enough and you inevitably have to reset. Nothing tells me this, and it was super frustrating. Introducing the big boo was an interesting twist on the gimmick, but Yoshi didn't add a whole lot.

Sinc-X
DESIGN: 38/50
CREATIVITY: 22/30
AESTHETICS: 14/20
TOTAL SCORE: 74/100

Very clever level, with inspired design and actually interesting "puzzles". Some of the jumps are a bit awkward, but the use of reset doors is perfect and keeps the level fun.

Rameau's Nephew
DESIGN: 25/50
CREATIVITY: 29/30
AESTHETICS: 12/20
TOTAL SCORE: 67/100

This level certainly starts off with a bang! The intro to the first section is sort of amazing, and climbing the first section-and-a-third using the Goombas, spider webs, and vertical enemy bopping is all kinds of clever. By the second third of the second main area, however, I found myself cursing the janky SMW camera, which made it very difficult to perform the required actions on account of not being able to see what's going on. By the final third of this section, the janky SMW camera rendered completing the required actions apparently -literally impossible-, on account of an enemy required for bouncing simply not spawning.

It was only after vainly bashing my face against this obstacle for an extended period of time that it finally dawned me that -fighting the janky SMW camera was actually intended as one of the central gimmicks in and of itself. I have to admit, this is certainly an original concept, though -highly- unorthodox, and not necessarily in a positive way. I think it could have been pulled off a bit better were it made clear in the intro that you will need to be forcing the camera to do your bidding by taking advantage of jumps off of spring boards (and perhaps also noting that it mysteriously affects vines as well), as it up until this part occurred completely naturally as a by-product of the method needed to progress, rather than an element the player has to forcefully introduce in to the equation. In either event, "Gosh, this game sure has a screwy camera, huh?" may not be the best concept to center a level around.

The second half of the level lacks something of the lustre of the first; riding the Big Boo Bus to the top of the third shaft honestly feels more annoying that anything. It's not particularly difficult, but it's repetitive and easy to screw up due to random bad luck or simply getting tired, forcing the player to start the climb all over again. The final section is entirely about getting the hang of the really weird timing needed to hop to the top, which is also a bit repetitive, though at least in this instance it's essentially impossible to die and the timer continually resets. Spacetime warping Yoshi completely broke my brain, and I'm unsure whether it was in a good or a bad way.

Æsthetically, it's fairly basic SMW ghost house, but the palette is nice, the spider webs look neat (and are a great choice to represent 1F0), and they're nestled into the support beams in interesting ways. Yoshi fireballs do glitch out, though.

+ This is without a doubt one of the most creative levels in the contest
+ The first 2/3s of the first half are great fun
- After this point, the level suddenly speeds off on a surprise midnight joyride through Jank City.
- Big Boo section is sort of awkward and less interesting than the rest of the level.

Other: Never before have we gotten Ready to Wiggle with such gusto.
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - How dare you disturb my family vacation ROAR!

Post by Implo »

Question: Why did raocow put savestate at reset door in big boo section? He got midpoint just before this part, so putting savestate there is weird.
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - How dare you disturb my family vacation ROAR!

Post by raocow »

basically I forgot where the midpoint was, I played that room for so long
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - How dare you disturb my family vacation ROAR!

Post by Sinc-X »

the midpoint was in your heart all along
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - How dare you disturb my family vacation ROAR!

Post by Sugar »

26th: Abnormal Asylum by Daizo Dee Von
Koopster
DESIGN: 32/50
CREATIVITY: 29/30
AESTHETICS: 17/20
TOTAL SCORE: 78/100

I was quite engaged by this level. It's got a nice difficulty and development curve, but a lot of the setups are quite awkward to perform and I'm not a big fan of instant death with the fires all over the place. The boss battle is weird and getting out of the room can be extremely annoying due to the blocks bouncing you off. The level is sometimes too generous with resets to the point some setups seem obsolete.

lolyoshi
DESIGN: 36/50
CREATIVITY: 25/30
AESTHETICS: 12/20
TOTAL SCORE: 73/100

I feel the concept was nicely presented, but I had a lot of trouble deciphering what to do at certain
parts; they're not presented intuitively. Which seems to be the primary problem. Also the level is a bit
awkward to play sometimes. On the other hand, it's creative.

Noivern
DESIGN: 28/50
CREATIVITY: 20/30
AESTHETICS: 7/20
TOTAL SCORE: 55/100

There's a fine line between well-decorated and overdecorated and you've definitely crossed it. The aesthetics are overbearing and distract from the level design, which is not all that special. You do some cool things with Yoshi and 1F0, but a lot of the core gameplay is simply bouncing on mostly unmoving enemies. The timing to get to the pipe in the boss is too short, and I died quite a few times.

Sinc-X
DESIGN: 47/50
CREATIVITY: 28/30
AESTHETICS: 16/20
TOTAL SCORE: 91/100

I love this level. In almost every way it's super creative and interesting and fun, even with its high difficulty. You've turned an overused concept into something new again, and you get mad respect for that. Props as well for one of the most clever Boo Bosses I've ever seen. It's nice æsthetically too though I slightly question the interior color choices. Otherwise a fantastic job.

Rameau's Nephew
DESIGN: 27/50
CREATIVITY: 25/30
AESTHETICS: 15/20
TOTAL SCORE: 67/100

Well now! This level is unapologetically romhacky in its design philosophy, but this -is- a ROM hack, after all, so what the hay? The challenges in this level are brimming with creativity, but sometimes I fear they take things a step or two too far, as they tend to demand things from the player which are impossible to predict ahead of time (such as which objects from a previous setup you'll need to retain for a subsequent one), which makes to make them a bit trial-and-error in practice. What's more, the punishment for not predicting correctly tends to vary wildly--sometimes a reset which scarcely takes you back any distance at all, sometimes the icy hand of death. The Asylum Owner (I would have gone with "Warden", personally) is certainly one of the more creative Big Boo Boss fights I've ever seen, but I spent far too much of the fight trying to grab that kicked shell in the upper right corner, which curiously ends up being the main challenge here, rather than the puzzle itself.

In terms of æsthetics, the backgrounds are universally gorgeous. The foregrounds are a little messier, in my opinion (and the low-res banners at the beginning don't fit at all, in my opinion), and it's sometimes hard to tell what's solid and what's not. Still an interesting looking level on the whole, though.

+ Some pretty original setups and boss concept
+ Great backgrounds
- A little janky and unpredictable in practice
- Foregrounds could be a bit cleaner.

Other: It's interesting that we've so strongly internalized the idea of an asylum as a nightmarish prison, considering the word's intended to mean a place of refuge...
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - And now, Daizo's level...

Post by Daizo »

Guess I'll post first.

Right, so, Abnormal Asylum. I think I can believe that I did put my all into this level at the time, which is pretty obvious with the aesthetics and all the midpoints I've added (see how you can add about 3 or so midpoints in vanilla? I found a way). I understand the critiques about how the aesthetics are very busy, especially after the Gambly Night fiasco. If I had to make that puzzle a little easier, I'd put a yoshi statue spitting a stone shell. Actually if you returned to the level, there would be another shortcut that lead straight to the midpoint so when replaying the stage you could just go straight to the boss or any other part of the level if you wanted to. There is a lot of silly lore to the level too thanks to the Yoshi character.

I know some of the judge comments critiqued on the multiple midpoints making the level "redundant" but I actually think that might've saved the level from being another long annoying gauntlet. I am very surprised the levels prior to mine hasn't tried doing the "Dragon Coin" midpoint since I was lead to believe the other levels used more midpoints than mine did. No, they're just long. To be fair, we're not done just yet, so there's still a chance we could see it again...maybe...

The music is a song I composed for Skewer for one of his hacks, which song had been released here for those who want to use it. The runescape influence was unintended, it's actually influenced by another song I made for Nova & The Dark Armour that also used the "Deirdre" sample from earthbound as a backing instrument. The song was actually nominated by a few members of SMWC but was ultimately rejected, which I respect their decision. Besides "Deirdre" as a sample, there was also samples from Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger, Kirby's Dreamland 3, and Mega Man X. Considering the track is meant to be "otherworldly" as requested by Skewer, I think I pulled it off.

This level, along with GeminiSunfall's and Strikeforcer's (coming up on 21st) was actually going to be a part of a "Secret Exit" collab that would've been a bigger version of what Skewer and Hunter did for their secret exits back at VLDC9 where we would link our secret exits to each others' levels. It fell through, and I made the happy decision to just remove my secret exit from the level. Apparently everything about VLDCX was going to be bigger.

The moon secret didn't have influence from VIP6, it was entirely a reference to Kirby first and foremost. I don't even think I was aware VIP6 did it when I made the level, but to be fair on myself VIP6 didn't have the moon on scrolling layer 2. This moon was a part of many moon secrets that contained the hashtag "#DJFY", which returned in VLDC11 as well. If you're wondering what the hashtag was, well here's a spoiler below but basically it's a reference to a Daizo's Journey trailer that got memed to death. I've had regrets on making that trailer, but these days I don't really care about it anymore. I know there are people who are sensitive to profanity so that's why I made it a spoiler.
Daizo's Journey Fuck Yeah
The intro message was just gibberish making fun of how most of the levels didn't change the message.

The boss idea came from just the fact I wanted to use the "goal trap" idea as an actual element to the fight. I added a little disclaimer before the fight that the platforms, Yoshi, and everything else would disappear when the boss disappears since that's the point of the boss. I actually came up with multiple designs for the boss, but the one you see was the one that worked out the most.

By the way, if you scrolled R just before hitting the goal, you'd see Dashi Yoizo's soul. Image

How do I feel about the level now that raocow played it? I don't really know still. I'm happy he enjoyed the level despite a few weird maneuvers he pulled off, and I am happy knowing that my musical talent is being appreciated. As raocow said, the level is weird but it's still an adventure from beginning to end. I think some might know by now I don't hold the JUMP influence as high as many others do, so I really had doubts that this level would've turned out any good especially with it coming during the development of "The Trap Doors" from JUMP 1/2 before I just gave up on it. I'm just glad it's an enjoyable romp, and I think in VLDC12 I'll try pushing myself again to make a better "Abnormal Asylum" type stage.

also S.N.N. totally stole the "Yoshi 1F0" idea from me for his "Crystarp Hollow" VLDC11 entry. At least he had fireball 1F0 stuff too so :shrugio:
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Links above if you want to check 'em out... or not, since these are overlooked.
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Sugar
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - And now, Daizo's level...

Post by Sugar »

26th: Swiss Sparkles Inc. by Enjl
Koopster
DESIGN: 29/50
CREATIVITY: 25/30
AESTHETICS: 9/20
TOTAL SCORE: 63/100

I really like some of the ideas presented by this level, but the execution of several gimmicks leaves a lot to be desired. Not much was done with the layer 2 falling, most enemy hopping/spinning sections felt samey, and the final room takes a completely different direction from where the level seemed to be going and ended very suddenly. I think a larger effort at focusing on the main gimmick and mixing it with your other ideas would've been good! I also don't like how many enemies feel obsolete, namely the piranha plants, in that hopping section they will hardly hit you and in the autoscroller they just don't allow you to jump which doesn't change much. Also I appreciate the effort for the tileset and all but honestly the palettes look really, really bad.

lolyoshi
DESIGN: 44/50
CREATIVITY: 20/30
AESTHETICS: 18/20
TOTAL SCORE: 82/100

I feel like it has good ideas on what it wants to do, but it restrains itself too much on going
deeper with it's elements. Ends up frolicking around. Still quite decent.

Noivern
DESIGN: 38/50
CREATIVITY: 23/30
AESTHETICS: 7/20
TOTAL SCORE: 68/100

The main problem I have with this level is that it feels like alternating between two different levels. The layer 2 falling sections and the bowling ball sections are entirely separate and never come together at the end like I had hoped. Neither of them are even introduced until almost 0x10 screens into the level. Green and red coins could have been introduced better; I got what they meant eventually, but for a while it just seemed like they were there just because. This is partially due to the palette, which is drab and monotonous and ugly even with the sparkles, and the coins that denote spinjumping are red and blend in with the environment. I'm disappointed that even though you went though all that effort to make the background and the tiles used in the level, you failed to fix the note block graphics in the last vertical section.

Also this isn't specific to your level, but I'd like out something. In cases like the last thwomp in this level, scenarios where you have to react suddenly or take a reset door... don't do this. It's simply not good level design to have an obstacle that requires the player to quickly react a certain way with no warning. Using a reset door to "fix" this completely removes all possible punishment for failure, which raises the question of why that obstacle exists in the first place.

Sinc-X
DESIGN: 33/50
CREATIVITY: 14/30
AESTHETICS: 16/20
TOTAL SCORE: 63/100

Not too shabby. Layer 2 was used pretty well throughout, and the bowling ball sections were quite enjoyable. However, the other main component of the level, the "sparkles" (1F0), feel tacked on in most parts, to the level's detriment. There are only a handful of setups that use it well, for example with the bowling balls. Aside from that, nothing strikes me as being of much interest; the standard enemy bouncing (i.e. Koopa to Koopa to Koopa... etc) is pretty much the same the whole way through and there isn't much variation on that concept to make it any more interesting. The æsthetics are pretty decent, though I wish there was more contrast.

Rameau's Nephew
DESIGN: 46/50
CREATIVITY: 25/30
AESTHETICS: 17/20
TOTAL SCORE: 88/100

This is some great stuff. There's some very creative spritework here, as well as extremely good (and heavy!) use of the uncommon and difficult-to-use bowling ball sprite. There's a nice feeling of action and kinetic movement throughout the level, but things never cross over to feeling hectic, and challenges are short enough not to feel overwhelming or drawn out, while still building up a good identity. And if you screw up a dragon coin challenge the first time, the level usually gives you the option of repeating the section.

There are a few things that could be cleaned up a bit, though. The solidity of objects can be a little unclear in the first section, and the multi-colored coins there (abandoned in later sections) can be slightly confusing, especially insofar as they make some of the coin guides unclear. The final sectional also has one or two sections which are a touch unfair, such as a bowling ball which gives you a split second to avoid your instinctive urge to spinbounce and instead seek refuge in a non-immediately obvious hole, and, perhaps most severely, a shaft which punishes spinjumping with death via obliterating the Koopas Mario is intended to bounce off of (thereby falling in to the lava), despite the fact that there is no indication of this--and indeed, due to the layout of the previous setup, most players will likely enter the shaft via spinbouncing off of the bowling ball near the entrance.

Æsthetically, the level holds up pretty solidly as well. The palette is sort of muddy and purple-brown, but in a nostalgic, NES sort of way which actually works surprisingly well here. There's a few minor kinks such as saws noticeably going behind the layer 3 background at one point or note blocks glitching out when jumped on, but they're nothing too severe. The way you end the level by sailing off in to a sea of lights is magnificent.

+ Clever and original spritework, especially bowling balls.
+ Nice sense of action and advancement, while maintaining a moderate difficulty level.
- Some unclear object solidity in the first section and one or two iffy setups in the final section.

Other: X-treme cosmic bowling, now with 100% more dead fish.
25th: Fish N' Bits by Spy
Koopster
DESIGN: 28/50
CREATIVITY: 18/30
AESTHETICS: 18/20
TOTAL SCORE: 64/100

Most of what this level does seems to be for visual effect. Lots of fishes that are just there to fall on your head or big lines of grinders that are barely hazardous. I mean, they look very cool (I love how this level looks!). But the gimmicks feel underdeveloped. You had the concept of dolphin ceilings in your hands (it's cool to play with, I've been there!) plus line guides. Level's also on the shorter end of things. It happens way too quickly and the design wasn't very memorable! Not a fan of seeing levels with this much potential that don't go wild.

lolyoshi
DESIGN: 42/50
CREATIVITY: 20/30
AESTHETICS: 15/20
TOTAL SCORE: 77/100

While it's not bringing anything new to the table. It's a genuinely alright level, with
kind of a clean aesthetic (maybe a little less deco?). There's just not anything that's splendid.

Noivern
DESIGN: 40/50
CREATIVITY: 15/30
AESTHETICS: 14/20
TOTAL SCORE: 69/100

Solid level. It doesn't do a whole lot with the gimmick, but it was really fun to play. Saws taking over the aesthetics at the end was pretty cool, but I think you overdid it.

Sinc-X
DESIGN: 37/50
CREATIVITY: 19/30
AESTHETICS: 13/20
TOTAL SCORE: 69/100

I wasn't sure how to feel at first but this definitely gets better as it progresses. Very good use of the dolphins and saws; I'm not sure what the point of the flopping fish was, though. The first half isn't too special, there are a few places where the saw arrangements are more annoying than they really should be. The second half makes great use of the doplhins especially though, and is much more fun to play. The saws coming out of the pipes is a cute touch, though I would have liked to see them recolored a bit to distinguish them from the actual sprites (that's just nitpicking, though).

Rameau's Nephew
DESIGN: 46/50
CREATIVITY: 23/30
AESTHETICS: 17/20
TOTAL SCORE: 86/100

This is a nice level. I admit I'm a bit of a sucker for saw antics, and this does them well, in a nice maritime setting. The level is brisk and dynamic, with a good sense of pacing and rising momentum, and despite all the moving parts, it never feels overwhelming. I question the centrality of the titular fish in the title (and less we're being woefully taxonomically inaccurate and including the dolphins), but that's a minor critique.

Æsthetically the level is unpretentious, but surprisingly well put-together. The moving background clouds at a certain dynamism, and make the level feel cool and breezy in a way static clouds might not have achieved. Layer 2 is used subtly yet effectively in the first part to create effects like the rock formations jutting out of the water or rising out of the vegetation, and the appearance of huge mess of machinery just sitting out their in the second half has a strange, dream-like quality to it. All-in-all very effective without being flashy.

+ Nice saw antics
+ Subtle yet very effective æsthetic touches.
- Could maybe use the dropping Cheep-Cheeps more creatively

Other: are those grinders or sawfish hahahahaherm
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - And now, Daizo's level...

Post by Kilgamayan »

So something I do not understand is why using waneffeaux is apparently A Bad Thing. What exactly is wrong with it? I feel volume of use of it is no different from volume of use of any other type of surface object.
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - And now, Daizo's level...

Post by raekuul »

0x1F0 is like horseradish. The right amount in the right place livens up the meal. The problems come from either using it in the wrong place or far too often, and not everybody likes or can tolerate horseradish. Also it's dangerous to actual horses.

(Wow this analogy works on more levels than I thought)
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - And now, Daizo's level...

Post by kitikami »

One small issue with Swiss Sparkles Inc. is if you don't die between the midpoint and the 1-up checkpoint, there doesn't seem to be any way to tell which door goes to which section in the respawn room other than trial and error. It might not even be clear that both sets of doors weren't always there and don't go to the same place if you never saw the room before, though most people playing VLDC levels would probably know to look for something with the 1-up and check it out.

The palette choices for that level seem to not be very popular, but i thought it looked pretty nice. It has a cohesive style and i felt like it pulled off a dark environment well without hampering visibility at all, which can be tough to do.
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - And now, Daizo's level...

Post by FrozenQuills »

It's funny how controversial Swiss Sparkles' palette/aesthetic choices are. I remember helping Enjl with the colors since it was his first time with SMW.

Meanwhile Fish n' Bits has an awesome "improved SMW" aesthetic style, with great level flow to boot.
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - And now, Daizo's level...

Post by Emral »

What bothers me about the palette these days is that I think it could've used a 2nd primary color for distinctly interactive elements. The color ramp in itself is fine, but it gets kind of brown after a while, so I can see where the dislike comes from.
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Re: Vanilla Level Design Contest X - And now, Daizo's level...

Post by Le Neveu de Rameau »

I suspect if you like the æsthetic style of, say, Faxanadu, you'll like the visual style of Swiss Sparkles Inc. If you don't like that sort of style, you'll probably find it less appealed. I tend to fall more in to the former category, myself.
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